Saudi Arabia has increased its crude oil prices for Asian buyers by $ 0.40 a barrel and reduced those of European and US buyers by $ 0.20 and $ 0.10 a barrel, respectively, according to reported Reuters, which has noted that the increase corresponds to the May loads, from the prices of the April loads. .
This means that the price of May shipments for Arab Light, the flagship grade of Saudi Arabia, will cost Asian buyers $ 1.80 above the Oman / Dubai average, which is used as a basis for to pricing. Oman’s benchmark was trading above $ 63 a barrel at the time of writing, and the Dubai contract was above $ 64 a barrel.
The news is unlikely to be well received by the two largest buyers of Saudi crude oil, China and India, especially by India, which has been happy to oppose OPEC’s price-raising efforts .
The world’s third-largest oil consumer has repeatedly called on the cartel to stop reducing production and drop prices. Meanwhile, it has begun looking for alternatives to Middle Eastern oil.
“We have asked companies to aggressively seek diversification. We cannot be held hostage to the arbitrary decision of Middle Eastern producers. When they wanted to stabilize the market, we were by their side, “a government source told Reuters in early March.
India imports up to 80 per cent of the crude it consumes. Of this, about 60 percent comes from Middle Eastern producers. According to unnamed sources quoted by Reuters, India could diversify into more American crude and crude from the new world producer: Guyana.
Meanwhile, the government has called on refiners to review their contracts with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern producers and use their collective bargaining power to get better terms, The Hindu reported. week.
Meanwhile, China is wrapping up cheap Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions and may not have to keep buying at the rates it did last year, when crude was cheap from anywhere.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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